Two words: thank you.
Before I say anything else today, I want to begin where it matters most:
With gratitude.
Thank you for the work you do every single day.
Thank you for the patience you show, the sacrifices you make, the burdens you carry quietly, and the determination that keeps you going when the challenges seem endless.
As Prime Minister, I spend my days working on policies, budgets, and programs. But I never forget that the real work of shaping our nation’s future happens in your schools, in your offices, in your classrooms.
It happens in the decisions you make, the encouragement you give, the discipline you enforce, and the example you set.
And so today, I am here not to lecture, but to acknowledge. To say, simply and sincerely: thank you.
When I think about education, I think about my own journey.
Growing up in Cat Island, opportunities were limited. But I had teachers and administrators who refused to let circumstances define me. They saw potential in me that I did not always see in myself.
I can still remember the lessons — not just the ones about math or reading, but also the lessons about discipline, respect, and perseverance.
Those lessons stayed with me, and they helped carry me from a small settlement on Cat Island all the way to the office I now hold.
That is the power of education. And that is the power of the people in this room.
Because for every child in The Bahamas today, there is an administrator, a principal, a vice-principal, or a district officer whose decision, whose encouragement, whose leadership may alter the course of that child’s life.
Your role is not always celebrated, but it is always critical.
You are the ones who set the tone in our schools.
You are the ones who support and guide our teachers.
You are the ones who stand in the gap when parents are absent, when resources are limited, when communities are struggling.
You are the ones who make sure the doors of opportunity remain open.
Every story of Bahamian success — whether in business, medicine, sports, or the arts — has a school administrator somewhere in the background.
Someone who believed.
Someone who insisted on standards.
Someone who kept the school running, even when the odds were stacked against them.
That is why I begin with thank you.
Because you deserve it. And because our country owes you more than words can ever fully express.
This conclave has chosen a powerful theme: “Transformational Leadership: Building Capacity, Raising Standards, Achieving Excellence.”
Let me pause here. Leadership in education cannot be about survival. It cannot be about doing just enough to get by.
Leadership in education must be transformational.
Transformational leadership is about seeing not just what is, but what can be.
It is about refusing to accept mediocrity.
It is about raising the bar, not lowering it.
It is about saying to our children: “You have greatness inside of you, and we will do everything in our power to help you discover it.”
That is what transformational leadership looks like. It is vision married to action. It is discipline joined with compassion. It is structure, balanced with creativity.
And you, the administrators of our public schools, are called to that kind of leadership every single day.
The first part of this theme speaks to building capacity.
Building capacity means equipping our teachers with the skills to meet the demands of modern classrooms. It means investing in professional development, ensuring they have access to technology, and giving them the tools to reach students who learn in different ways.
But building capacity also means equipping you — the administrators.
You need training, mentorship, and support in order to manage schools effectively.
You need resources that allow you to lead, not just to cope.
And yes, building capacity means investing in the physical spaces too. Our children cannot be expected to learn in buildings that are crumbling, without proper technology, without libraries, without safe environments.
Capacity is not just about knowledge — it is about infrastructure, about systems, about people.
The second part is raising standards.
Raising standards means more than higher exam results, although we certainly want that. Raising standards means creating schools where respect, discipline, and responsibility are non-negotiable.
It means ensuring that children understand that hard work is rewarded, that excellence is expected, and that they are capable of more than they sometimes believe.
It also means raising the standards of inclusion. Every child, no matter their ability, background, or circumstance, deserves access to quality education.
And it means raising the standards for ourselves.
Government must be accountable to provide resources.
Teachers must be accountable for delivering quality instruction.
Administrators must be accountable for leadership.
Parents must be accountable for supporting the work of the school.
And students must be accountable for their own effort and behaviour.
The third part is achieving excellence.
Excellence is not an event. It is not one grand gesture. Excellence is a culture. It is built brick by brick, day by day, decision by decision.
For us, excellence must mean that every child leaves our schools literate, numerate, and confident.
Excellence must mean that they leave not only with knowledge, but with character — with respect for others, with resilience, with creativity, with hope.
And excellence must mean that The Bahamas can stand tall in the world, not just because of our natural beauty, but because of the quality of our human capital.
But let us never forget what is at the center of it all.
At the center of education is not policy. It is not exams. It is not even the teachers or administrators, though you are indispensable.
At the center of education is the child.
The child who comes to school hungry, hoping for a meal in the lunchroom.
The child with special needs who longs for patience and understanding.
The child from a broken home who finds safety and structure in your classrooms.
The child with a dream — of being a doctor, a carpenter, a musician, or a nurse — and who needs guidance on how to reach it.
When we remember that every decision, every program, every initiative must be about them, then we keep education where it belongs: at the heart of national development.
My government is committed to standing with you in this mission.
We are working to modernize infrastructure, to introduce new technologies, and to ensure that vocational and technical education is expanded and respected.
We are reforming curricula to make them more relevant to today’s economy.
We are investing in training programs for teachers and administrators.
And we are strengthening partnerships with parents and communities.
But even as we do these things, I recognize this truth: government cannot do it alone. Education is a shared responsibility.
It belongs to parents, to communities, to the church, to the private sector, and to all of us who call this nation home.
So let me come full circle, back to those two words with which I began: thank you.
Thank you for your leadership. Thank you for your courage. Thank you for choosing to work in education, when you could have chosen easier, more lucrative paths.
Thank you for believing in children who sometimes come to you broken, discouraged, or distracted.
Thank you for seeing in them the leaders, the artisans, the entrepreneurs, the doctors, the innovators of tomorrow.
Your work is noble. Your work is sacred. And your work is shaping the future of The Bahamas.
Let me close with this thought:
The classrooms of today are the boardrooms, the hospitals, the police stations, the courts, the businesses, the construction sites, and the households of tomorrow.
The young people walking into your schools today will one day carry the weight of leading this country.
How they lead, what values they uphold, what skills they bring — that will depend in large part on what we do today.
So let us recommit ourselves. Let us hold firm to the belief that every child matters. Let us work with courage, with humility, and with love.
Because at the center of education is the child — and when we put the child first, we put the future of The Bahamas first.
Thank you, may God bless each of you, and may God bless the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.